Govt continue to assist people impacted by pandemic: PM Timothy Harris

On Tuesday, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis Dr Timothy Harris discussed the achievements of his "Team Unity Government" over the last few weeks. In a press conference held at NEMA Headquarters, Prime Minister said the government had a tremendous development in three areas; safety, relief and recovery. He said the government focused on these three areas to deliver a stronger and safer future as they promised. He said the government is working tirelessly to ensure citizens and residents' safety from the dreaded COVID-19 virus. He said his administration has been facilitating relief and support to all those highly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Safety and Security Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris said the "Team Unity" led government increased budgetary support to National Security from $62.8 million in 2014 to a record high of $99 million in 2020, followed by $86.2 million in 2021. He said the government created new programmes like the Alternative Lifestyle Programme (ALP) and the Explorers Club. "We have the largest national group of young persons organized in constructive activities through the Explorers Club. Over 1200 young persons are participating in this club, under the tutelage of our Community Policing Team," stated Prime Minister Harris. Reducing Crime: Prime Minister Dr Harris said that to ensure safety and security, the government worked to reduce significant crimes, including homicides, and the graph has been moving downward. PM said the government wants to the ideal of zero homicides per year, while so far there have been only seven regrettable cases, while in 2020, there were ten. COVID-19 pandemic: The prime minister said that COVID-19 is an existential threat to human security, and nobody is safe until everyone is safe. He said the vaccination scorecard of St Kitts and Nevis is impressive, and the country continues to vaccinate more people regularly. He cautioned that given the arrival of the Lambda variant of COVID-19, there is a suspicion that some variants may have entered, and a surge in cases is expected. He said the impacts could be handled with a higher proportion of the population getting vaccinated. Furthermore, speaking about the Pfizer vaccine's rollout, the prime minister said the rollout would begin from 1 September 2021. He reminded everyone that the Pfizer vaccine is available to everyone 12 years or older. Relief Measures: PM said the stimulus package provides relief to people, particularly the poor and vulnerable affected by the pandemic. He said the stimulus package has "I am committed to supporting our people, especially those who are having a difficult time and require a hand up and a helping hand to usher them, out of poverty, out of abuse, out of a life of criminality, out of extreme dependence," stated Prime Minister Harris. Income Support Programme: Prime Minister said that 3,733 people applied for the income support programme as of 23 August 2021, and a total of 1886 applications have been approved. At the same time, all claims will be processed soon. Fuel Subsidy Programme He said the government accepted 106 applications from bus operators by 23 August 2021, while only 92 have been approved so far. Disability Support Programme: Total of 109 applications were approved, and the government is also working to support the trainees at Ade's Place by providing $15,000. Tourism Prime Minister Harris said as the country works to resume tourism, a total of 62% of people have been fully vaccinated across St Kitts and Nevis, while over 73% received at least the first dose of Astrazeneca vaccine. He said the government is working with cruise ships operators to make cruise visits through bubble arrangements. PM said the cruise ships arrival would take thousands back to work. Speaking about education tourism, Prime Minister stated that thousands of students coming back to their educational institutions.

Govt continue to assist people impacted by pandemic: PM Timothy Harris

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